Emily Update!

The last time I wrote something about Emily, we were still in the process of getting her to relax while we hung over her back or carefully put our foot in the stirrup. And look at us now! She has been going through an amazing transformation lately.

As you might know, Emily and I moved to a different boarding stable at the beginning of September. Although I’m not really thrilled to have her indoors during the night, she seems to be taking it okay and I have to admit, it is rather nice to have a sheltered place when the colder days are coming again.

Apart from that, overall, I believe the move has been the best thing I could have done. Emily seems much more relaxed and confident in her new home. I don’t know if that is because of the other horses, the clear daily routines at the yard or the general positive vibe, but it has been great for her.

My gorgeous, happy, confident Emily: isn’t she lovely?

Meanwhile, our training in Parelli also continues steadily. Through all the lessons from Mirjam and all the hours practicing in between, Emily and I are getting more and more attuned to each other. We have even been “upgraded” to a new leadrope. This one is a lot longer and much lighter, so that we can do exercises at a larger distance and at the same time make our communication even lighter. It does take some getting used to (mostly from me, I keep getting tangled up in the rope!), but it most certainly adds a new depth to our training.

Both of those factors combined have led to Emily being so much easier to work with. She is extremely patient while I’m grooming and tacking up, and is much more relaxed at work as well. No more running around at the start of a session, much less stress when she doesn’t immediately understand something, and a much quicker recovery after something stressful happens. She even becomes a bit cheeky sometimes!

Let’s get to work! (It was really early and I had to drag Emily away from her breakfast for a bit, so that is why she doesn’t look to keen) ;)

And as if all of that is not amazing enough, she is doing great with the riding as well. She has really surprised me with that. I was half expecting the riding part of her training to take just as much time as the ground-work had taken, but I am hopeful to say that that will not be the case. Because of all the things we have already accomplished, working together on the ground, it is rather easy to apply that while sitting on her back too. At this moment, I am able to ride her around the arena at a walk, without any of the tension we had previously. Amazing! Next week I’ll tell you more about this new form of riding that we are learning together.

For now, I can just say that Emily and I are constantly improving and enjoying every bit of the journey.

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2 Comments

Wonderful to read about your growth together! It is nice to see that the two of you are getting to understanding each other. Keep up the good work!
And by the way, I think Emily is a very cute looking horse :)